Bundesliga 2007/08 ~ Champions: FC Bayern München

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Friday match result:

Duisburg 0 - 1 Energie Cottbus

4' [0 - 1] E. Skela

MSV Duisburg 0-1 Energie Cottbus

Energie Cottbus took a valuable three points with a narrow 1-0 victory over fellow strugglers Energie Cottbus at the MSV Arena. The win sees Cottbus move four points clear of the relegation zone, but leaves MSV still in the bottom three.

A first half header from Ervin Skela sealed the points for the visitors, but they had to withstand a lot of pressure in the second half from a determined, but wasteful Duisburg.

First Half

This battle between two relegation threatened sides got off to a lightning quick start with the home almost taking the lead after just 50 seconds. Midfielder Adam Bodzek unleashed a shot from around 20 meters out that forced Tremmel into a flying save to fist the ball out from the top corner.

However, the away side were also quickly into their stride and they drew first blood with a goal after just four minutes. Sörensen broke down the right beating Caceres before sending over an inviting cross. Skela found himself unmarked and was able to head home easily from 6 meters out.

Despite the setback of conceding the early goal, the home side continued to press forwards and were the more dangerous side in an attacking sense. On 13 minutes Niculescu tried his luck from distance and Tremmel had to be on his toes to hold onto the dangerous effort.

The Zebras were then hit with an early injury blow after just 17 minutes with key striker Manesseh Ishiaku having to limp off having not recovered from an earlier knock. Sascha Mölders was his replacement.

Both sides had chances from dangerous looking free kicks but both Tararache and Ziebig both wasted their opportunities and after an interesting first half Cottbus went in ahead after converting their only real chance of the half.

Second Half

Straight after the restart, the home side were awarded another good opportunity with a free kick on the edge of the Cottbus penalty area, but yet again they wasted it with Grlic firing into the wall.

Five minutes in and the Zebras very nearly grabbed the equaliser after a well worked move. The ball came to Caceres on the left and his shot fizzed inches wide of the far post.

The home side were finding it hard to up the pressure and force Cottbus into defensive mistakes. They were forcing the game, but not being rewarded with goal scoring opportunities.

Duisburg Trainer Rudi Bommer sent on an extra striker in Markus Daun just after the hour mark in an ambitious, but risky tactical switch.

On 69 minutes the visitors had a huge chance to make it 2-0 but were denied by keeper Tom Starke. Sörensen found himself through on goal but was denied by the foot of the keeper when he attempted to fire the ball into the goal.

Duisburg’s best chances continued to come from set-pieces and Grlic forced a superb save from Tremmel on 78 minutes which was pushed away for a corner when it seemed destined for the back of the net. A minute later Mölders should have done better with a cross, but was rather surprised when it arrived at him.

The pressure from the home side continued to mount with Maicon firing a dangerous shot which had to be saved by Tremmel with eight minutes left. The next and final chance fell to Bodzek who flashed his shot just wide after taking the ball well on his chest inside the area.

In the end all their pressure counted for nothing and the visitors took a valuable three points from this bottom of the table clash.

Duisburg: Starke, Lamey (Willi 71), Filipescu (Daun 63), Schlicke, Caceres, Bodzek, Grlic, Tararache, Maicon, Ishiaku (Mölders 17), Niculescu

Energie Cottbus: Tremmel, da Silva, Mitreski, Cvitanovic, Ziebig, Bassila, Angelov, Rost, Skela (Radeljic 81), Sörensen (Rivic 74), Jelic (Papadopulos 52)

Goal.com - Bundesliga - Cottbus Triumph In Basement Battle

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Skela has been fantastic lately, he's putting some superb performances and scoring. 3 goals in 2 matches.

He wants to keep Cottbus in 1.BL by any means.

[Oliver_Kahn]

Saturday's match results:


Arminia Bielefeld 1 - 0 Karlsruhe

90' [1 - 0] L. Kampantais

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Eintracht Frankfurt 1 - 3 Nurnberg

3' [1 - 0] M. Fink
18' [1 - 1] A. Charisteas
49' [1 - 2] R. Vittek
83' [1 - 3] Z. Misimovic

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Hertha BSC 1 - 2 Werder Bremen

1' [0 - 1] M. Rosenberg
10' [1 - 1] A. Lima
73' [1 - 2] T. Borowski

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Schalke 1 - 0 Hansa Rostock

52' [1 - 0] H. Altintop

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Stuttgart 1 - 0 Hamburger SV

20' [1 - 0] R. Hilbert

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Wolfsburg 3 - 2 Hannover

20' [1 - 0] A. Dejagah
27' [1 - 1] A. Bruggink
29' [2 - 1] M.d.S. Marcelinho
71' [3 - 1] A. Dejagah
79' [3 - 2] J. Stajner

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Some pretty much expected results, besides the Karlsruhe and Frankfurt defeats.

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Schalke climbed to second in the table with a 1-0 win over Rostock, leap-frogging Hamburg, who went down to a 1-0 loss at Stuttgart. The Swabians push into the top five with the win secured by Roberto Hilbert.

Werder Bremen got back to winning ways with a 2-1 win over Hertha, while Wolfsburg’s recent impressive form continued. Nürnberg secured a potentially vital win against Frankfurt in a game marred by crowd trouble.

Schalke 1-0 Hansa Rostock

Schalke managed to climb to second in the table with a 1-0 win over Hansa Rostock. The Königsblauen put in a workmanlike performance in a rather lacklustre game which was decided by a second half goal from Halil Altintop.

The only goal of the game at the Veltins Arena came on 52 minutes when midfielder Altintop headed home a right wing cross from Albert Streit.

Mirko Slomka’s side can now concentrate fully on Wednesday’s vital second leg Champions League clash at the Nou Camp against Barcelona.

Stuttgart 1-0 Hamburg

VfB Stuttgart climbed into the top five for the first time this season with a 1-0 win over Hamburg at the Gottlieb-Daimler Stadion. A first half strike from midfielder Roberto Hilbert proved enough to take all three points for the Swabians.

The defeat however sees HSV give up second place to Schalke and continue their recent poor run of form.

Hertha Berlin 1-2 Werder Bremen

Werder Bremen got themselves back on track with a valuable away win against Hertha Berlin, which sees them climb one place into fifth after four games without a win.

Under-pressure Werder got off to a dream start at the Olympiastadion with a goal inside the very first minute. Fritz broke down the right and sent the ball goalwards. Markus Rosenberg was quicker than Josip Simunic and fired in despite a valiant effort from keeper Drobny.

Hertha however quickly got themselves back in the game with an equaliser after ten minutes. Skacel fired a free kick from the halfway line into the Werder penalty area, where André Lima rose to flick the ball past Tim Wiese and into the back of the net.

What proved to be the winning goal came after 73 minutes with international midfielder Tim Borowski taking a through ball from Torsten Frings superbly before firing an unstoppable effort past Jaroslav Drobny.

Eintracht Frankfurt 1-3 Nürnberg

Nürnberg took a huge step towards securing their Bundesliga survival with a well-earned away win at Frankfurt.

The home side got themselves off to the ideal start with a goal after just three minutes. Amanatidis broke free down the left past Abardonardo and sent a sublime cross into the centre, that saw Michael Fink volley home from 14 meters to hand Eintracht an early lead.

Struggling Nürnberg however got themselves back in the game after 18 minutes by grabbing the equaliser through Angelos Charisteas. Seconds earlier Saenko has just missed, the Greek striker converted from close range after good work down the left from Misimovic.

The game then had to be interrupted and the players left the pitch after half an hour with burning fireworks raining down on the pitch and the police having to enter the stand where the away fans were. After a fifteen minute break, the game got back underway, but with the warning that the game would be stopped at the next similar incident.

‘Der Klub’ then got themselves in front on 49 minutes when Robert Vittek profited from a corner which Eintracht keeper Nikolov had trouble dealing with. The three points and the valuable win was sealed on 83 minutes when Misimovic applied the finishing touch to a fine counter attacking move.

The win doesn’t see Nürnberg out of the bottom three, but it is a step in the right direction after their draw with Bayern last week.

Wolfsburg 2-1 Hannover

Wolfsburg’s fine form continued with a 3-2 home win over Hannover. Felix Magath’s side have climbed to seventh with another win which continues their fantastic form in the second half of the season.

The home side took the lead after 20 minutes through Dejagah after he had been sent in from a flick on from Dzeko. The lead however lasted just seven minutes with Hannover equalising through Bruggink. The midfielder headed home a Huszti cross from close range.

However, two minutes later and the home side were back in front with captain Marcelinho on target. A long punt from keeper Benaglio wasn’t cleared by the Hannover defenders and the Brazilian fired home from a Dejagah pass.

The ‘Wölfe’ made it 3-1 after 71 minutes with Ashkan Dejagah capping a fine performance with his second goal of the game. Schulz lost the ball in midfield to Hasebe, who sent a great ball forward. The German U-21 international got himself on the end of a Dzeko cross to head past Robert Enke.

Ten minutes from time the away side pulled a goal back with Jiri Stajner rifling home a right foot shot after beating five defenders and the keeper. The home side however hung on the secure another three points.

Arminia Bielefeld 1-0 Karlsruhe

Bielefeld secured a first win for trainer Michael Frontzeck with a late late winner against Karlsruhe. A goal two minutes into injury time from Kampantais saw the home side to a potentially vital win.

Bielefeld were deserved winners with KSC thankful to keeper Markus Miller that it stayed 0-0 for so long.

The goal arrived in the 92nd minute with Kampantais fired home a right-foot shot after Miller had parried out a shot from Eigler.

Goal.com - Bundesliga - Bundesliga Round-Up: Schalke Go Second, Werder Back In The Running

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Sunday's match results:

Bayern Munich 3 - 1 Bochum

4' [0 - 1] M. Azaouagh
31' [1 - 1] F.d.S. Lucio
74' [2 - 1] F. Ribery (pen.)
88' [3 - 1] C. Lell

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Borussia Dortmund 2 - 1 Bayer Leverkusen

51' [0 - 1] S. Kiessling
87' [1 - 1] A. Frei
90' [2 - 1] Dede

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Ten-man Bayern Munich took a giant step towards the Bundesliga title on Sunday after coming from behind to beat Bochum 3-1 and open up a nine-point lead at the summit.

Mimoun Azaouagh put Bochum ahead in the fourth minute and Bayern's Mark van Bommel was sent off just short of the half-hour mark.

But Lucio equalised three minutes later and the hosts sealed the win with Franck Ribery's 73rd-minute penalty and Christian Lell's goal two minutes from time.

Bayern are now nine points clear with seven games left.

In Sunday's other game, Bayer Leverkusen failed to emerge from their slump as Borussia Dortmund scored two late goals for a 2-1 win.

Leverkusen came into the game on the back of two defeats and a nightmare 4-1 drubbing by Zenit St Petersburg in the UEFA Cup quarter-final first leg.

But Stefan Kiessling gave Leverkusen the lead in the 51st minute and Michael Skibbe's men looked to have secured an away win until Alexander Frei levelled in the 87th minute and Dede snatched an injury-time winner.

The loss leaves Leverkusen on 44 points in sixth place.

SportingLife.com

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Table after MD 27:

1. FC Bayern München - 57 pts
2. FC Schalke 04 - 48 pts
3. Hamburg SV - 47 pts
4. Werder Bremen - 47 pts
5. VfB Stuttgart - 45 pts
6. Bayer Leverkusen - 44 pts
7. VfL Wolfsburg - 43 pts
8. Eintracht Frankfurt - 42 pts
9. Karlsruhe SC - 38 pts
10. Hannover 96 - 35 pts
11. Borussia Dortmund - 34 pts
12. VfL Bochum - 33 pts
13. Hertha Berlin - 32 pts
14. Energie Cottbus - 26 pts
15. Arminia Bielefeld - 25 pts
16. Hansa Rostock - 24 pts
17. FC Nürnberg - 23 pts
18. MSV Duisburg - 22 pts

Champions League
Uefa Cup
Intertoto Cup
Relegation


Top scorers after MD 27:

1> Luca Toni > FC Bayern München > 16 goals
2> Mario Gomez > VfB Stuttgart > 15 goals
3> Mladen Petric > Borussia Dortmund > 13 goals
4> Diego > Werder Bremen > 12 goals
5> Marko Pantelic > Hertha BSC Berlin > 11 goals

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Friday, 11.04.08, 20.30h
1. FC Nürnberg : VfL Wolfsburg

Saturday, 12.04.08, 15.30h
Werder Bremen : FC Schalke 04
VfL Bochum : Hertha BSC
Energie Cottbus : Arminia Bielefeld
Hannover 96 : Eintracht Frankfurt
Karlsruher SC : Hansa Rostock
Hamburger SV : MSV Duisburg

Sunday, 13.04.08, 17.00h
Bayer Leverkusen : VfB Stuttgart
Bayern München : Borussia Dortmund

Bundesliga Table

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Another busy round of Bundesliga action gets underway this weekend with things hotting up at the top of the table and the battle for survival becoming fiercer at the bottom.

Bayern Munich extended their lead at the top of the table to nine points last weekend and take them a step closer to the league title. Behind them the race for the other European places has hotted up with Schalke grabbing second spot and Leverkusen dropping out of the top five.


Nürnberg – Wolfsburg

With just seven games left things are really getting desperate for Nürnberg as they strive for their Bundesliga survival. Last season’s Cup winners have had an awful season, but the signs have been there in recent weeks that ‘der Klub’ have what it takes to stay up.

A valiant effort at home against Bayern Munich could have brought them a win such was the level of their performance, but that long awaited first win for Thomas von Heesen came last weekend with a 3-1 away win at Frankfurt.

Wolfsburg will be looking to keep up their push on the European places as the form side in the second half of the season. Felix Magath’s side are only two points off a European qualification spot and a win against Nürnberg would put them in the top five, albeit temporarily until the weekend’s matches are completed.

Werder Bremen – Schalke

The battle for those all-important Champions League places hots up on Saturday with Werder Bremen and Schalke clashing at the Weser Stadion. The Green and Whites got themselves back on track last weekend with a win against Hertha Berlin after three losses and a draw in their previous four matches. Whether that recovery is a short-lived one will be seen on Saturday with the arrival of Schalke.

Things are becoming increasingly tight at the top with just three points separating second from fifth, so three points on Saturday will be vital for both sides.

Schalke have taken the initiative in recent weeks with four wins in their last five Bundesliga matches taking them up to second in the table. How much of a toll their midweek Champions League exertions will have taken from them remains to be seen, but if they can reproduce the sort of form they showed in the first half at the Nou Camp, then Werder are going to have a real game on their hands.

Bochum – Hertha Berlin

A meeting of two mid-table sides takes place at the rewirpower Stadion as Bochum take on Hertha Berlin. Marcell Koller’s side went down to a 3-1 defeat to Bayern last weekend despite going a goal ahead and playing the majority of the game with a man advantage. They are however very difficult to beat at home and are unbeaten in their last eight home matches.

Hertha have slumped to 13th in the table which is a little too close to the drop zone for many fans’ liking. The introduction of Lucien Favre as trainer this season has not really had the desired effect, so the capital club will be looking to finish the season with a few wins in order to push themselves up the table.

Energie Cottbus – Arminia Bielefeld

Both Cottbus and Bielefeld will be looking for three points to take themselves further clear of the releagtion zone and secure their Bundesliga survival for another year.

The two sides currently occupy the two places above the bottom three so could easily be sucked into the drop zone should they lose a couple of games. The winners of this game will take a huge step towards the safety zone.

Michael Frontzeck grabbed his first win as Bielefeld trainer last week against Karlsruhe so will be confident, but so too will be Cottbus who have grabbed all three points in three of their last four games in the Bundesliga.

Hannover – Eintracht Frankfurt

Although Hannover have nothing to play for this season, being out of the hunt for European places and clear of the relegation zone, trainer Dieter Hecking will be impressing upon his players the need for a strong finish to the season. However with only one win in their last ten Bundesliga matches confidence isn’t exactly at an all-time high at the AWD Arena.

Eintracht Frankfurt still have an outside chance of European qualification this season, but will have to finish the season extremely strongly in order to achieve it. The ‚Adler’ went down to a shock 3-1 defeat last weekend at home to Nürnberg in a game more memorable for the crowd trouble.

Karlsruhe – Hansa Rostock

Karlsruhe’s season has taken the downturn that many thought it would have done much earlier in the season recently. They now sit ninth having looked for so long as though they were a genuine contender for a Uefa Cup place next season.

The surprise team of the season have only taken two points from their last five matches and are suffering their worst run of form of the season so far. Hansa on the other hand are also in abit of a rut with three consecutive defeats taking them back into the bottom three. So yet again, three points are vital for both sides at this business end of the season.

Hamburg – Duisburg

If HSV are to have real designs on Champions League football next season, then a home win over relegation threatened Duisburg is a must. However, the fact that the Zebras will be fighting tooth and nail for survival with provide Hamburg with a tougher match than it looks on paper.

The Zebras are currently bottom of the table but will be looking for a repeat of the result they achieved on their last visit to North Germany, when they beat Werder Bremen at the Weser Stadion.

Bayern Munich – Borussia Dortmund

Sunday sees a dress rehearsal for next weekend’s German Cup final with Bayern hosting Borussia Dortmund at the Allianz Arena.

The home side will still be pinching themselves that they managed to squeeze through in their Uefa Cup quarter final tie with Getafe, and it remains to be seen what that has taken out of the Bayern side ahead of this Sunday’s clash.

Dortmund continue to entertain with their matches, which generally sees goals at both ends. Last weekend’s last-gasp win over Leverkusen will have given them confidence, but the most important game for BVB comes the following Saturday at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin.

Bayer Leverkusen - Stuttgart

The final match of the weekend sees Bayer Leverkusen taking on last season’s champions in a key match with regards European qualification. The home side were dumped out of the Uefa Cup on Thursday by Zenit St Petersburg despite a 1-0 second leg win.

They currently lie 6th which means they will not even qualify for the Uefa Cup if things don’t change so Sunday’s game is vital in the grand scheme of things for Michael Skibbe’s side.

Stuttgart on the other hand are poised to rescue an abject season by potentially qualifying for Europe when for so long it seemed as though a mid-table finish would be an achievement for Armin Veh’s side.

Goal.com - Germany - Bundesliga Weekend Preview: Round 28

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Nürnberg v Wolfsburg POSTPONED!

The Friday night Bundesliga clash between Nürnberg and Wolfsburg was rained off at half-time after a torrential downpour made the pitch unplayable.

Referee Jochen Drees was forced into postponing this Bundesliga tie at half time with the home side leading 1-0.

The first half had descended into a farce with huge puddles of water all over the pitch and the ball becoming stuck making passing impossible.

Nürnberg had taken the lead after 35 minutes when a Saenko shot slipped through the hands of Wolfsburg keeper Diego Benaglio. The visitors had earlier missed a penalty when Blazek saved well from Marcelinho.

The game will now have to be replayed at a later date.

Goal.com - Germany - Nürnberg-Wolfsburg Rained Off

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A downpour in Nürnberg led to the first Bundesliga call-off due to rain for 32 years on Friday evening.

The match between 1. FC Nürnberg and VfL Wolfsburg was abandoned before the second-half got under way. Referee Jochen Drees called the game off at 22:15, with the home side leading 1-0 at the interval.

The game will be rescheduled and played in full on a date yet to be determined. This is only the sixth time in the history of the Bundesliga that a match could not be finished - whether on account of the weather or for any other reason.

"Safety couldn't be guaranteed"

Explaining his decision Jochen Drees said, "We do not believe the situation allows for the game to be played out to its conclusion. We analysed the information received from the met office, inspected the pitch in several places, and came to the conclusion that the match had to be abandoned. It's always the last resort, but the regular run of play and the safety of the players has to be guaranteed. That was no longer the case here."

Massive puddles

The heavens opened five minutes before kick-off. Twenty minutes in, the players were completely soaked and the pitch covered in countless massive puddles.

Under the conditions, passes and shots were rolling to a halt in the water and every tackle was an increasingly hard to calculate risk. The hosts went in front through Ivan Saenko in the 35th minute.

Desperate measures

At the break, stadium ground staff even resorted to boring holes in the pitch to try and drain off enough water to allow the game to continue - in vain.

The last Bundesliga match to be abandoned was 1. FC Kaiserslautern versus Fortuna Düsseldorf, way back in November 1976. On that occasion, the referee called off the game in the 76th minute on account of bottles being thrown on the pitch, with the visitors leading 1-0.